Tight gas supply to start from May next year

Polish firm, SSGC sign gas sale and purchase agreement.

ISLAMABAD:

Polish Oil and Gas Company and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) on Tuesday signed a gas sale and purchase agreement, aimed at supplying 30 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of tight gas to SSGC from Kirthar block located in Dadu district of Sindh.

Tight gas production from the Kirthar block, jointly owned by the Polish firm and state-owned Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), will start in May next year. The price of tight gas will be $6 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) – 40% higher than the current gas price.

Addressing a signing ceremony, Adviser to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain said tight gas production would start in May 2013 for the first time in the history of Pakistan.

In the beginning, two wells will produce tight gas, with output of 15 mmcfd each. The Polish firm and PPL will provide gas to SSGC, which will then supply to the industrial sector. The firm has invested $40 million in exploration of tight gas from the Kirthar block.

“The Polish firm has explored tight gas in two wells and will dig other wells to find more gas,” Hussain said, adding SSGC would lay a 46km pipeline costing Rs325 million to provide gas to the industrial sector.

Discussing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, Hussain dismissed the talk of pressure on Pakistan to abandon the project and said the nation would hear good news about the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2012.